Batman: Arkham Knight PC Version Delayed To "Fall 2015" After Major Issues

Wow, some PC ports of games are bad and pretty much everyone is used to that by now, but it’s rarely been this big. As of right now, Steam sales for Batman: Arkham Knight have been suspended. You cannot buy the game directly from Steam. Harsher still, the release of some versions has been pushed to a more vague date of “Fall 2015” on the Steam page, for those who didn't buy the game yet.

In the past days, people have been reporting widespread issues with the PC version of the latest bat game. Even on the most tenacious of rigs, it would be nearly impossible to hold a playable framerate, among many other problems. Since then, the developers have been updating the progress on performance almost daily, but it seems they’ve hit a roadblock that fully engages the panic button of halted sales now. Since then, about six thousand negative reviews have sunk the major release to one of the poorest receptions this year. Just a bit more than 30% of players have recommended the game on Steam. Bear in mind, there are likely a large variety of satirical reviews on the positive blurbs, such as our favorite, ever so gently put: “Great game with some minor framerate issues.”

At the very least, it does seem that publisher Warner Bros is apologetic about the snafu. There’s a recent post on Steam that invites consumers to ask for a refund, if they desire. Luckily, Steam implemented such a thing just recently. This isn’t, however, the publisher’s first screw up. In fact, their previous PC release, Mortal Kombat X, was also marred with performance issues, arguably affecting the game even worse, since hiccups in fighting games generally don’t do well for its flow.

Major releases and broken launches are getting to be common practice. Notable examples like Assassin’s Creed Unity have also shipped with large issues. Yesterday, developer Milestone even sent out a press release that their latest, MotoGP 15, could have significant issues at launch and they would look to patch it, but not actually recalling their product. It’s a tough world, game development.

Update: I messed up and alluded that PC copies would be halted until a further date, instead of a less harsh "temporary" status. Other versions, however, will be put in a fall 2015 window. Further noting the seriousness of the sales halt; certain retail stores have now also been asked by Warner Bros to take Batman: Arkham Knight off shelves until further notice. So not "fall" per se for PC, but no time otherwise given. Days or weeks, maybe a month, who knows. Nuance is important and this article lacked that considerably. My apologies.

Daav Valentaten, NoobFeed (@Daavpuke)